Saints and Sisters
by SpazzyBabySister
Summary: Two sisters who only have each other, their uncle, and their cousin Romeo, meet the Saints and help break them out of prison.
1. The Sisters Meet the Saints

A loud crash from the kitchen echoed throughout the small house. The seven year old girl shook in her sixteen year old sister's arms. Their mother wrapped her arms around the two of them as their father adjusted himself in his fighting position. With a grip so tight his knuckles turned white, he held a baseball bat-length stretch of pipe he'd bought intending on fixing a problem with their home's sink.

The gang violence in their little town in Mexico had risen over the years, but they had never before had to worry about it affecting them since they were as poor as anyone else. As the girls were growing up, the only thing their family had was each other. Recently, however, their father's great uncle died and left a good sum of money to him in the will. It wasn't long before everyone in the small town knew; which meant it wasn't long before the local gang knew. First, they tried to pressure him into giving them money, but he refused. He wanted to put it all away for his girls to use for college. Furious at his defiance, the gang decided to take the money by force.

Another deafening boom resonated as the gang members forced their way through the house, closer and closer to the bedroom in which the family huddled. The younger girl began to sob silently as she watched her father poised at the door, ready to take on whatever came his way. The older girl noticed and brought her sister even closer to her, whispering, "No te preocupes hermanita. Estoy aqui. No voy a dejar que te golpean."

Just then, the loud crack of the door being kicked in pierced the silent room. Three men stood on the other side. The one in the middle snickered. His lackeys laughed with him. They found it amusing that the girls' father thought he could fight them. The middle glared at him, saying it was his last chance to hand over the money. The girls' father readjusted his hold on the pipe and said no, then he quickly swung at the middle. The pipe collided with the middle's head, splattering blood on the wall and door frame. He collapsed on the floor, clutching at his head desperately. It took the other two a moment to process what had just happened. When they did, they jumped over the middle to attack the girls' father. One tried to rival the pipe with the bat he had, but it was no use. The pipe split the bat apart and slammed into the man's arm with such force, the bone broke. He cried out in agony, curses flowing from his lips with great speed. The other shuddered at the bloody sight before jamming his hand into his jacket to pull out his gun. The girls' father looked at their mother, a fleeting glance, but she knew what to do. As he swung to knock the gun from the man's hand before he could shoot, she shoved her daughters forward, shouting for them to run. It took a moment for her words to register, but the older girl understood, picked up her sister and shot toward the door, ducking just to be safe. Their father managed to knock the gun from the gang member's hand, allowing for his wife and daughters to get out of the room safely. However, not a few steps from the doorway, the man whose arm was broken, took out his gun and shot the girls' mother. From over her sister's shoulder the younger girl watched her mother's body fall limp onto the floor. She screamed. The sound of the shot, and his daughter's scream caught the father's attention. In the moment he looked to see his older daughter turn out of the house, the man whose gun he'd knocked away, retrieved his weapon. A couple feet from their home, the girls heard another loud crack of a gunshot. The younger girl wept violently, but silently on her sister's shoulder. Tears streamed down her sister's cheeks as she sprinted away to safety, never looking back.

"Alia! Alia!" Summer shook her little sister.

Alia's eyes shot open. "What? What is it?"

Summer looked at her, concern in her eyes. "You were crying. You dreamt about it again, didn't you?"

Alia reached up to wipe the cold sweat from her face. "Yeah. It only happens around this time of year now. No need to worry though. It's been ten years after all. I'm alright." She ran her fingers through her long brown hair and yawned. "Breakfast ready yet?"

"Yup. Just got done making the chorizo con papas."

Alia groaned. "You know I don't like spicy food so early in the morning."

Summer bopped her on the top of the head. "Did you buy it?" Alia made a face. "I thought so. Go eat while I call Tio."

Alia hopped out of bed. "Tell him I said hello and that I can't wait for summer so I can help out at The Silver Peso again."

Summer chuckled. "I will. I will." The girls really loved their tio. He was the one who looked after them after their parents' death. They lived with him until Summer turned eighteen. Although they loved him very much, they didn't want to impose on him anymore so they got their own place and Summer took care of Alia.

Alia looked up from her breakfast to watch her sister make the call. For a while growing up, Alia couldn't look at her sister without crying. Summer was the spitting image of their Cherokee mother. At the same time, Summer had to resist the urge to tear up when she saw her little sister who resembled their father so much. After ten years though, it didn't hurt so much, rather, it was a sweet reminder of their parents who gave up their lives for them.

Summer told their tio all about how Alia was doing in school and about her own experiences at work. Then she asked about him. Her face fell and she fumbled the phone a bit. Alia got up and approached her sister. She mouthed, "What's wrong?" Summer pressed her forefinger to her lips and motioned for Alia to come closer. She turned the phone so Alia could hear him too. He told them that their favorite cousin Romeo was in a mini-coma in prison. They bombarded him with questions like, "Why didn't you tell us sooner?" Their tio said he didn't want to worry them, but apologized for not informing them when it happened. He said that the doctor said Romeo might wake up if he heard the voices of relatives and that he would go himself, but with his old age and having to look after the restaurant he wasn't up to it. The girls shared a look before saying, "We're going to visit him then, Tio. We'll come see you after ok? Hasta luego."

"Are you worried about missing school?" Summer asked Alia as they walked through the hall leading to the room in which their cousin lay hooked up to various machines.

Alia scoffed. "You're kidding, right? Primo is _way_ more important!"

Summer ruffled Alia's hair. "I knew you'd say that."

Alia chuckled. "So why'd you ask?"

"The awkward silence was getting to me." The girls smiled at each other and Alia purposefully knocked into her sister a moment before the prison guard that was leading them announced they had reached their destination. The girls took a deep breath before entering the room. They found two men, one on either side of Romeo's bed, on their knees, rosaries held tight in their hands as they prayed silently.

Summer and Alia looked at each other. Alia whispered, "These must be the guys Tio mentioned on the phone." Summer nodded. Not wanting to disturb the men while they prayed, the sisters stepped back to lean against the wall. Alia was so focused on the men she knew to be the famous, or infamous depending on the person, Saints that she actually managed to trip over her own foot. Luckily, Summer caught her before her head collided with the wall. The clatter alerted the Saints to the sisters' presence. Summer cleared her throat and looked away, trying not to giggle at the hilarious, embarrassed expression her little sister was making. Alia stomped on her older sister's foot as she said, "Sorry guys. You can go on praying."

The Saints got to their feet. Connor flashed a half-hearted smile. "Relatives?"

"Cousins," Summer replied, returning the smile.

"We'll get going then," Murphy muttered, looking away to wipe a tear from his eye.

As the guys walked passed them, Summer and Alia said, "Thank you for looking after him."

They stopped dead in their tracks. "What?"

"For watching over him and praying for him: thank you."

They nodded "you're welcome" and continued out the door. Curiosity peaked by the sisters, they lingered just outside the door with the guard that would bring them back to their cell.

Alia and Summer went to sit where Connor and Murphy had just been kneeling. Alia grabbed Romeo's hand. "What are you doing, you stupid primo? Weren't you always the one to cheer me up when I was hurting? Like that time I was picked on in sixth grade and ran away in the middle of the school day. You came and found me on the swing in that park people hardly ever visited. You acted like a complete fool just to get me to smile." Her voice cracked. "What am I supposed to do to help you, Primo?" She rested her head on his hand and began to cry.

Summer felt her heart ache to see her primo and her hermanita like this. In her head she prayed for a miracle to happen. She pleaded with God to bring her primo back to normal. She begged Him to spare her sister from any more pain. She was so focused on her prayers that she failed to notice the tears streaming down her cheeks.

Murphy turned away before Connor. They trudged back to their cell in silence. Connor sat down on the bottom bunk while Murphy slid down the wall until he was sitting with his knees close to his chest. He twined his fingers and hung his head so that his chin was inches from his chest. Connor lay back and stared at the bottom of the top bunk. He brought his hands up and covered his eyes as he let out a deep, aggravated sigh.

"How many more?" Murphy's question was muffled, but Connor heard it.

"'How many more' what?"

"How many more innocent people are we going to hurt?" he exclaimed as he leapt to his feet. He stood hardly a foot away from his brother.

Connor groaned. "I don't know, Murph." He sat up and looked his brother in the eye.

"They thanked us. _Thanked _us! And for what? It's _our_ fault Rome's like that in the first place!" Connor was silent, not breaking eye contact. "Say something!" Murphy gripped his head with both hands and paced the small area of the cell. "We're supposed to be eliminating evil, but with the suffering we've inflicted on others, aren't we doing evil too?"

Connor still didn't respond. He couldn't. He'd asked himself the very same question countless times, but he could never find an answer. Was it worth it? he thought, living by the theory of "the greatest good for the greatest number"?

Murphy sank to the floor again, burying his face in his hands. "They seem like such sweet girls."

"Calm yourself, Murph," Connor finally said. "Your wound is open again."

Murphy looked down and saw the crimson liquid stain the bandage around his middle. He sighed heavily. "Help me change it?" he asked, tossing his brother the roll of bandages the guards had given them.

"How is he?" Cesar asked as he set tall glasses of soda in front of his nieces.

"His hands twitched a bit, but he didn't wake up," Summer said, weary from crying.

"Well it's something, right?" he commented optimistically.

Alia nodded. "I want to do something," she said, breaking the short awkward silence that had fallen.

"For Primo?" Summer asked, taking a sip of her soda.

"And the Saints."

Summer choked a little as she swallowed. "What? Hermanita, I understand you have sympathy for them and support their cause, I do too, but what can we do?"

"I don't know," she mused as she swirled the soda in her glass around. "I just have this feeling. It's like I can't leave them alone."

Summer nodded. "I have that feeling too."

Alia smiled. "I knew it! I knew you were thinking about it too!" She sat up excitedly. "We absolutely _have _to do something."

Summer conceded quickly. "Alright. But let's discuss it more after school tomorrow."

"I'm not going to school tomorrow."

"Like hell you're not!"

"Hermana, I wouldn't be able to focus even if I did go. Let's just go see Romeo again."

"Alia, you're going to school. You need a proper education and you can't get that if you take days off like this too often."

"It's just two days! Summer, please! Tio, tell her!" Alia implored her uncle.

Cesar stood up. "Do you smell that? It smells like something in my kitchen is burning. I'll just go check it out."

"Wimp!" Alia pouted.

The next morning, Summer got up early and went out to buy donuts to make Alia feel better about not going to see Romeo again. When she got back, she found a note on the dinner table saying that Alia had gone to the prison again while she was out. Summer crumpled the note in her hand. Fuming, she said through gritted teeth, "That damn, stubborn girl!" She grabbed her coat and headed out after her sister.

Alia stared up at the entirety of the prison before taking a step closer to the doors. Suddenly, someone behind her grabbed her hair and yanked it back. Alia clutched the area where the greatest pain emanated. "The hell?" She spun around and smiled sheepishly when she saw her sister looking back at her, an eyebrow raised and hands on her hips as she leaned to one side. "You sure got here fast."

"I'm the one with the car remember?"

"Oh yeah." She laughed while rubbing her head. "You didn't have to do that you know."

"You're lucky I didn't kick your ass for leaving like that. You blatantly disobeyed me."

"I'm sorry, Mufasa. I didn't mean to put Nala in danger."

Summer smacked the back of her sister's head before strolling passed her. "Now's not the time to be a smartass."

"The same damn place!" Alia shouted as she covered the aching spot. "Where are you going?"

Summer stopped halfway to the doors of the prison. "We gonna visit or not?"

Alia grinned and hurried to catch up. "Thanks, Summer."

Summer smiled her "you're-so-dumb-but-I-love-you" smile and mussed Alia's hair.

The girls recognized the guard escorting them this time as the one who lead the Saints back to their cell last time. On their way, Summer broke the silence by asking, "So, about the Saints: how are they?"

The guard didn't turned around. He took a while to answer. Summer had begun to wonder if he was one of those people who thought the Saints were wrong. "I'm not sure how to answer that. They're healthy and recovering, but I haven't seen either one of them smile or laugh since they got here."

The sisters looked at each other with concern. "Is anyone giving them shit here?" Alia asked.

"They only leave their cell to shower and visit Romeo. We let them shower alone to avoid letting anyone attack them."

"Does that mean you guys support them?" Summer asked, relieved to hear the guys were being treated well.

"Most of us. Everyone who has contact with them anyway. We've all lost someone or known someone who's suffered because of gangs and the mafia and all that. Those guys are heroes to us. It's bullshit that they have to sit in here while murderous scumbags are walking around out there without a care in the world."

Alia hopped up beside the guard. "I think so too!" she said excitedly.

He looked down at her and smiled. "We're here."

Summer and Alia thanked him and headed into the room. Connor and Murphy were sitting on one side of Romeo's bed. They weren't praying this time, just looking at him. Alia and Summer made their way over to the other side of Romeo's bed and sat down. The guys looked up. "Hi," the sisters greeted them happily.

"Hey. We'll go now," they said as they moved to get up.

Alia quickly put her hand on Connor's shoulder to stop him. Then she looked and saw her sister had done the same with Murphy. "Stay. We were hoping to get the chance to talk to you again."

"Us?" Murphy asked, obvious confusion showing on his face. "Why?"

"We haven't seen our cousin in a while so we were hoping you could tell us about what you guys went through before . . ." Summer's voice trailed off.

"Is he still the idiot we remember?" Alia offered.

The guys told them all about their time with Romeo from when they met on the ship. Near the end of the recounting, Connor chuckled. "He got himself these really gay guns."

Summer and Alia burst into laughter. "Yup! That's our primo alright! Bet they had to do with the Mexican flag right?"

Murphy smiled. "They did! You should have seen the dumb look on his face! He was so proud of himself."

Connor nodded. "Hey, has he always been a crier?"

Alia and Summer shook their heads, pretending to be deeply saddened. "Always," Alia said. "He cries watching _Desperado_."

Summer giggled. "And _Fools Rush In_! We think he has a thing for Salma Hayek."

"Well she is quite a beautiful woman," Connor commented.

Murphy laughed. "She is. The only time I love to hear that Spanish accent."

A soft knock on the door caused them all to look to the open door. The guard grinned. "Sorry to interrupt but it's time for you guys to get back to your cell."

Connor and Murphy stood. They were almost out the door when Murphy paused and turned back. "We don't know your names."

"Summer and Alia Martinez," Summer replied.

"It was nice talking to you, Summer, Alia," he nodded toward each girl respectively.

"The feeling is mutual," Alia said and Summer nodded in agreement.

Alia yawned loudly and stretched before climbing into her sister's car. "Let's go get lunch."

"Only if you're paying," Summer said derisively.

"Fine," Alia said, reaching into her pocket. She pulled out a slip of paper and gasped. "Summer, look at this." She handed it over to her sister.

"What is it?"

"Just read it."

Summer read it and looked up at her sister. Their hearts were beating faster than normal. "You don't think-?"

"What else could it be?"

"Whether or not it's true, we're going aren't we?"

"Without a doubt."

"Anyway, let's just go get lunch."

"Am I still paying?"

"Are you a moron?"

"That's a yes," she sighed before giggling.

Summer crumpled the paper as she shoved it into her pocket.

The paper read:

_We're working on breaking the boys out. If you'd like to help, please go to your uncle's restaurant at midnight tonight._

_- EB_


	2. Won't Be Long Now

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go in," Alia said, gently pushing Summer closer to the doors leading into Cesar's restaurant.

"Why I gotta be the one to go in first?" Summer pouted slightly.

"Cuz you're the older one!"

"But the note was in _your_ pocket!"

"Yeah, but . . . but . . ." Alia pushed Summer harder this time and tried to dash back, but Summer caught her by her shirt sleeves and tugged, spinning them around. Alia tried to get Summer to let go by wiggling, but it was useless so she got her sister around the middle and tried to tackle her. Summer kept her ground and worked Alia into a headlock. Alia stomped back onto Summer's foot which made her gasp and let go. Just as Summer was about to grab Alia's hair, their uncle opened the door and shook his head at them. "Really? Get in here already! You're wasting everyone's time!"

"Sorry, Tio," they mumbled as they walked passed him into the restaurant. They saw a woman and a man sitting at the bar. The woman had on a long black over coat, a stylish black dress, black nylons, and shiny black heels. This look made the red of her hair stand out even more that it normally would have. She laughed at the man wearing a white button-down shirt and tan slacks when he said, "You really do look much better with your hair back to this color. The black was just atrocious. I could hardly stand to look at you."

"Stop staring," Cesar smacked his nieces on the backs of their heads before saying loud enough for the two at the bar to hear, "They're here."

Summer sat on the stool next to the woman and Alia sat next to her sister. "I'm Summer and this is Alia," she said, nodding to her little sister who waved awkwardly.

"How do you do? I'm Eunice and this is-"

"I thought you were dead!" Alia exclaimed after getting a closer look at the man's face. "It was in the papers and everything. Agent Smecker, right? How'd you pull it off?"

Summer slapped the hand Alia was using to point at Smecker. He chuckled. "That's a story for another time, Sweetheart. Now that we've been introduced, let's get to the subject that brought us here."

"You see, girls, although we've got a plan all figured out, there's a little snag that's keepin' us from executing it," Eunice said. "Your uncle told us that you were interested in helping the boys so we thought we'd give you the opportunity to fix our problem. You don't have to if you don't want to," she said quickly," but we'd appreciate your help since you're about the only people who can do it."

"You'll be putting yourselves in danger. Your lives will be on the line. You can't do this half-assed. And," he paused, "you've got to be willing to throw away the lives you've been leading because there's no way you can go back if you join us."

Summer gulped and was about to say something when Alia shouted, "I'll do it!" Summer frowned at her, then turned back to Eunice and Smecker with a smile. "Give us a minute, won't you?" She grabbed Alia's arm tightly and led her to the kitchen.

"Ow! What's wrong with you?" Alia said, rubbing her arm as the door swung closed.

"Me? What's wrong with _me_? Are you out of your mind? Don't just agree like that! Think about it first. Think about the consequences."

Alia rolled her eyes. "I don't have much to lose."

"What? What about school? College? Your future!"

"Those don't matter to me."

Summer couldn't believe her ears. "Are you serious? So, what, I've just been wasting money on paying for your education? This is _not _how I raised you!"

Alia was getting just as angry as Summer. "Why should I care about school? Why should I care about college? _I _will decide _my _future!"

"Is this some kind of weird rebellion you've been suppressing or something? Why don't you just blast music or get a boyfriend no one likes like a normal teenager?"

"It's not a rebellion, Summer! I just couldn't care less about that stuff!"

"Then why have you been going huh?"

"Because _you _wanted me to! Because you're my sister and I know you want me to have a good life. But Summer, I'm not happy like this. I have no ambition. No drive. It'd be wasting _my_ time and _your_ money. I care about _you_, Summer. And I care about Tio and Primo. And I'm not gonna sit back and let the Saints stay locked up when they should be free and doing what they do best."

Summer sighed and leaned against the wall as she thought. She ran her fingers through her hair and shook her head.

A minute later, they walked out of the kitchen and sat back onto their stools. No one said anything. Everyone was focused on Summer, who cleared her throat and said, "We'll do it."

Alia stumbled over her own feet as she hurried out the door. Summer smirked. "How come the one so eager to help the Saints is also the one taking so damn long to get ready?"

Alia shot her an angry look. "You didn't wake me up! And you know how long it takes me to dry my damn hair!"

"That's right Alia. Blame others for your problems."

Alia laughed reluctantly. "Shut up. Let's go already."

Alia yawned loudly as they neared the place where their cousin still lay in a coma. The guard, whose name they came to find was Mark, laughed. "You seem pretty at home here."

Alia chuckled. "We come here often enough right?"

"Feels like it's been a year at least."

"It's only been half," Summer said with a smile, "but I know what you mean."

They all stopped in their tracks a few feet from the door because they heard voices. Three voices. All of them quite familiar. Alia and Summer shared a quick glance. Each could tell that the other's heart was beating so fast it felt like it was one, long, solid beat. They ran past Mark at full speed, bursting into the room. Once inside, they stood staring at their cousin who was staring back at them. "The fuck? You guys tryina kill somebody?" he asked, placing his hand over his heart.

Summer reached down for her shoe and threw it at Romeo. Her voice shook a little as she shouted, "Shut up, you damn, worthless primo!"

"I love you, too," he said with a little smirk. Then he opened his arms and Summer and Alia rushed to hug him.

"Stupid Primo! Do you have any idea what you put us through? You owe us big time!" Alia said with a smile.

"Si, primas, I know." He ruffled their hair and started to tear up.

"Oh, don't do that. You're so fuckin' embarrasin'," said Connor, who had moved to let Summer sit by Romeo.

"What? I can't be happy to see my family?" Romeo asked with annoyance.

"Sure. Be happy. But you don't gotta be so girly about it," Murphy replied.

Summer and Alia laughed. Romeo looked at them with an expression of someone who has been betrayed. "You gonna let them talk to me like that?"

"You aren't exactly the manliest right now, Rome," Summer said.

"It's true," Alia nodded.

Romeo folded his arms angrily. "I didn't wake up for _this_."

"You should be grateful we've been looking after your sorry ass," Connor said.

"Don't be such a prima dona," Murphy shook his head at him.

As the guys bickered, the girls went to grab some coffee. Summer took a sip. "Oo! They made it just right today!"

"Took them long enough! When did they bring it in? A month ago?" Alia asked, pouring herself a cup.

"I think so." Summer looked over at the Saints who were laughing about something they said to make fun of Romeo. "It won't be long now, huh?"

Alia sighed into her coffee. "I was thinking the same thing."

Summer stroked her sister's hair gently. "Second thoughts?"

"No. I'm just worried about how well it'll all go down, you know?" She sipped her coffee slowly.

"It should be fine. We already have guards on our side and Smecker and Eunice are confident in success."

"I know. I'm just," she swirled her coffee around slowly, "worried."

Summer knew exactly what Alia was thinking. She knew Alia must be frightened of seeing anyone get injured and not being able to help them. She was about to say something reassuring when Alia walked back over to the guys.

A minute later, Murphy went over to get himself something to drink. "Are you ok?"

Summer looked up from her cup. "Huh?"

"You're lost in thought."

"I'm fine. I didn't get much sleep last night because I worked overtime yesterday and then our sink went berserk so Alia and I spent hours fixing it."

"Why didn't you just call someone?"

"We don't have the money for a plumber and we've done it before so it wasn't a big deal."

Murphy nodded. He didn't believe her excuse, but he knew from personal experience that some things you just can't talk about and it only makes things worse when someone bugs you about them. "Alia's funny. She gets along well with Connor. I like that she can argue with him."

Summer giggled. "Is that what she's doing? I wondered why she went back over there."

"Yeah. She said she couldn't just leave her cousin to be slaughtered by us."

Summer almost spit her coffee out laughing. "She's so weird!"

Just then, as though on cue, Alia clapped loudly and shouted, "HA! GOTCHA!"

Connor shook his head and excused himself to the bathroom to clean off the, now cold, coffee Romeo had "accidently spilled" on him as payback for the joke made about him a moment earlier.

Alia joined Murphy and Summer by the coffee pot. "I told Romeo to get some sleep so I came over to hang out with you guys."

"Thanks for remembering I exist," Summer said sarcastically.

"I remembered. You're existence just wasn't useful to acknowledge until now."

Summer hit her on the back of her head. "Ha. Ha. Ha."

Murphy started to laugh, but stopped, clutching his stomach in pain. "You ok?" the girls asked.

"I'm alright," he said, wincing.

"Liar," Alia said, nodding toward the blood seeping through his shirt.

He laughed a little. "The other day, this guy tried to start a fight with Connor, so I kicked his ass, but it opened my wound."

"That's awful!" Summer said.

"Least you kicked his ass!" Alia added.

Summer smiled. "I love your priorities!"

"I learned 'em from you!" Alia returned the smile.

Murphy laughed painfully. He pulled out a roll of bandages he had tucked in his pants. "Give me a second." The girls watched him struggle for a minute before taking the roll from him. "I can do it!" he protested.

"Yeah, sure. If we left it up to you, you'd end up mummifying yourself," Summer said.

Alia grinned. "You would." Then she told him to hold up his shirt as she and her sister re-did his bandaging.

Connor came back right as Murphy was putting his shirt back down and the girls were throwing away his old bandage. He looked skeptically at his brother. "Really?"

"They insisted!" Murphy blushed.

Alia shushed him quickly. "Romeo's sleeping."

"Sorry."

"We've got to get going," Mark said as he entered the room. "Time to get back to the cell guys."

Connor and Murphy said goodbye to the girls and followed Mark out of the room.

On the way back, Connor rolled his eyes at Murphy. "What?" Murphy asked indignantly.

"You have no fuckin' spine when it comes to women. Just like with Ma, you were always her little angel."

"I was not!"

"You were so! 'Yes, Ma. Right away, Ma. I love you, Ma.' Ow!"

Murphy had stomped on Connor's foot with all his might. "Shut it!" When he sat down on his bed, the roll of bandages fell and a small piece of paper slipped out. He picked it up cautiously. "No way," he whispered once he'd read it through three times.

"What?" Connor asked, sitting down beside him. Murphy handed him the paper. Connor had to read it five times before the words sunk in. "This…is this real?"

"Looks like." Murphy stared intently at his brother, searching for a reaction, but Connor's face was extremely still, though his brow was furrowed.

"Why?" He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and burying his face in his hands. "Why would they do this?"

Summer sat gripping the wheel, staring out at the street in front of the car. Alia climbed into the car and joined her in her staring. "Mark says he'll tell the other guards."

Summer nodded. "You think the guys have found the note yet?"

"Should have."

They sighed in unison. "Let's get some food?"

"Something really greasy followed by lots of sugar please."

"Burgers and shakes?"

"Please."

Eunice turned to Smecker. "Are you _sure_ they can do this?"

"Did you think you could when I first proposed the idea to you?"

"No. But, I've been around longer."

"That doesn't matter. They've already seen the ugliest side of humanity. Their ability to accept reality and yet be optimistic enough to have faith in others is exactly how they must be to survive the kind of life they're going to have from now on."

"But does that mean they should have to have this life? To leave behind almost everything they've ever known?"

"You shouldn't insult them like that. They're smart girls. If they didn't have the conviction to do whatever it takes, they wouldn't even have shown up that night."

"I suppose."

"It's not like they'll be alone, Eunice. We'll be there, and their cousin, their uncle, and the boys, of course. We need them as much as they need us. We're fucked up, but we're a family. They'll be alright."

Eunice smiled. "You're right."

The paper fluttered to the floor as Murphy lay back on his mattress and Connor climbed up to the top bunk.

_In a week, we'll break you out. We won't be back for a few days because we'll be making sure everything is in place. Please help get our cousin ready. Mark and some other guards know about our plans. He'll tell you who you can trust. Have faith. Be safe._

_Summer & Alia_


	3. Ready?

Alia sat on a stool, tapping her fingers on the counter nervously. Summer, who was on her way back from the bathroom, saw her chance and took it. She crouched low and slowly made her way behind her sister. Then, when she was sure Alia hadn't noticed, she jumped onto her back and shouted. Alia leaped so high in the air Summer was afraid her head might hit the ceiling.

"The fuck?" Alia exclaimed as she rubbed her butt to help lessen the pain from having fallen on it.

"You were way too tense. Thought I'd loosen your nerves," Summer replied through bouts of laughter.

"I'm pretty sure the effect is the opposite of what you were hoping for." Alia got back onto the stool beside Summer. "Where could the viejo be?"

Summer hit Alia's arm lightly. "Be more respectful."

"I didn't mean it in a bad way." Alia sighed before folding her arms on the counter and resting her head on them. "How long is he gonna take? What's he lookin' for anyway?"

"I don't know. He just told us to wait here." Just as Summer was through saying this, they heard a river of curse words flow from around the corner of the bar. "You're back!" she greeted him happily.

"We were starting to wonder if you'd ditched us," Alia added, earning her another punch in the arm.

"W-w-well it was hard f-f-f-finding th-this," Doc replied. He hefted a large cardboard box onto the counter.

"What is it exactly?" Alia asked as she leaned in closer to open it.

"Th-th-the boys' st-st-stuff."

Seeing Alia's shocked face, Summer leaned in to see what was in the box. Alia looked to she her sister's expression. They just looked at each other for a while before Alia said, "Damn! Those are a lot o' guns!"

A quiet smacking sound resonated in the bar after Summer slapped the back of Alia's head for cussing again. "You're giving them to us?' Summer asked while ignoring Alia's glare.

"I-I-I have no use for 'em a-a-a-and you two will probably need them r-r-right?"

Alia leaned far over the counter to give him a quick hug. "Gracias, Doc!"

*Later*

"Why do I have to carry the heavy-ass box o' guns?" Alia grumbled.

"Cuz you were the one who eagerly accepted them," Summer replied. "It is tonight, isn't it?" Summer asked when she saw there were no lights on at The Silver Peso.

"Yeah. Eunice said we have to go over the plan one more time before tomorrow."

"But it doesn't look like anyone's here."

Alia set the box down and stretched a little. "That is a little weird. I'll go check it out."

Summer put her arm out to stop her sister from going any further. "You just don't want to carry that anymore."

"Of course not! It's too heavy!"

"Useless nieces," Cesar murmured before picking the box up.

The girls wheeled around. "Tio! Where'd you go?"

"To visit your stupid primo. He looks fine. Not hooked up to those machines anymore," he added while unlocking the door.

"So…you think he's good for tomorrow?" Alia asked quietly and anxiously.

Without looking at her Cesar nodded. "Should be." The girls sighed with relief. "Girls…"

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure you can do this?"

The sisters looked at their uncle, then at each other, then back at their uncle. "I think," Summer started, "that it's gonna be really difficult. I don't think we can pull it off without a hitch, but," she looked at Alia one more time before saying, "I will do what I have to for those I love."

Alia smiled brightly. "Yo también!"

They all turned to the door to see who'd begun clapping. "Great!" Smecker said with a big grin. "Let's get started then!"

Smecker and Eunice spent the next couple hours making sure Summer and Alia knew exactly what to do if this or that went wrong here or there. "The most important thing to remember is to keep your wits about you," Eunice said at one point. "You should be able to handle whatever gets thrown at you as long as you stay calm. There are a lot of people there to help you, too so don't forget that it's ok to rely on them. Ok?"

That night, Alia just couldn't sleep. She stared up at the ceiling, thinking of all the things that could go wrong. She imagined the worst possible outcomes. More than once she thought of going to her sister, but would stop because she didn't want to wake her up. Little did Alia know that Summer was doing the exact same.

The next morning, Alia fidgeted nervously as Eunice helped her tuck a small gun into her new boots. "You alright, darlin'?" Eunice asked without looking at her.

Alia looked down at the floor in such a way that it looked like she dropped her answer and was trying to find it again. "I'm ok. Just…nervous."

Eunice rubbed her back gently. "If you wanna back out-"

"No!" Alia cut her off quickly. "The world needs the Saints and I'm honored to be here to help. Those bastards that tear apart families without a hint of remorse and for their own benefit don't deserve to be free while the Saints are locked up!" She took a few deep breaths before muttering, "No one should feel the pain of losing a family member. Good people don't deserve to die like that…"

"You know? He is really good at make-up!" Summer said, motioning toward Smecker as they walked over.

"Of course I am!" He came over to look at Alia. "You have a little darker skin tone compared to your sister, but I think it'll be fine to use the same foundation and such. It's not a huge difference." As they walked away so he could apply her make-up, Smecker whispered, "I'll give you more confidence. When a woman looks her best, she can do anything!"

Suddenly, Alia's heart throbbed and she remembered when she was little and watching her mother teach Summer how to use make-up. Summer was getting ready for her first date with her crush, Alejandro Gomez. She was so nervous she kept tapping her foot and biting her bottom lip. To calm her down their mother said just what Smecker had.

The memory made Alia's heart ache. She remembered how, as she watched them, she prayed that the day her mother would teach her about make-up would come quickly, but now it never could.

"Alright?" Smecker asked, noticing how down Alia'd become.

"Yeah. I was just thinking."

Meanwhile, Summer confided in Eunice. "I'm worried about Alia. She hasn't really been around guns since…"

"Didn't she bring the box that had all the boys' stuff, though?"

"She did, but it's different to see a gun in a box compared to a gun in someone's hand. Especially if it's pointed at you or a loved one."

"That's true." Eunice sighed. "Still, you gotta admire her spunk. Normally girls her age only think about boys."

Summer giggled. "She's never really been into boys. Maybe it's because she lost her father at such a young age, but she's only ever been attracted to older men."

Eunice's eyes widened. "Then, toward the Saints she…"

Summer waved her hands about emphatically. "No no no. At least, I don't think so…"

"Somehow, I have the feeling I'm being talked badly about." Eunice and Summer turned to see Alia who was mumbling, "Did I word that correctly?"

"Wow," Eunice said. "You look beautiful, hon."

Alia blushed before looking down at her feet. "Really?"

Smecker lay his hand on her shoulder. "Of course you do! This way, even if you happen to bump into a guard who isn't on our side, your beauty will distract him."

Summer got to her feet and brushed some hair out of Alia's face. "Ready?"

Alia looked at her sister's kind expression for comfort before answering. "Yeah. Let's go."

*At the same time*

"Connor, the reason Rome's uncle came yesterday…you don't think-"

"Yeah," he said with a heavy sigh. "With the questions he was askin' what else could it be?"

Murphy shook his head. "Isn't there anything we could do to stop 'em?"

Connor scoffed. "You remember Alia's eyes don't you?"

Confused, Murphy nodded. "Aye, but what does-"

"Did they look like the sort that belonged to someone who'd change their mind about something once they've chosen?"

A small smile found its way to Murphy's face. "Not even a little!"

"And as for Summer, she doesn't exactly come across as the type to back down from a challenge, does she?"

Laughing, Murphy shook his head. "I get it." He paused. "Still, it would be better for them to not get involved."

Connor was about to say something in agreement when Mark came to bring them to visit Romeo. "You guys ready?" he asked.

The guys shared a glance before nodding. "Aye," Connor said.

"Bring it on," Murphy added.

*Later*

"Everything's in place," Mark assured the girls as they headed to Romeo and the boys.

"Good," Summer said. "Thanks again, Mark."

"Yeah, if it weren't for you and the other guards who support the Saints this wouldn't be possible," Alia said with a smile.

Mark chuckled. "Thank me after you get out, ok?" He pushed open the door and mouthed "Good luck."

The boys' jaws dropped when they saw the girls. "You two look…"

"Is it no good?" Alia asked nervously as a blush crept into her cheeks.

"It's very good!" Connor said quickly.

Romeo hit the back of Connor's head. "Those are my cousins so don't get any funny ideas!"

"Calm down, Rome. He was only complimenting them!" Murphy said.

"Yeah well I still got my eye on the two o' you. Who knows when the Saints could become sinners?"

Alia and Summer laughed at the shock on Connor and Murphy's faces. "Primo, sometimes you're just too-" A loud clanging sort of alarm rang loudly throughout the prison. They all looked at each other thinking the same thing: "It's time."

Alia and Summer threw Connor, Murphy and Romeo guns they'd concealed in their outfits. They all made sure their guns were ready as they rushed out of the room and down the hallway.

"You girls still know how to use a gun?" Romeo asked worriedly.

"Yeah and we practiced too," Summer said as they rounded the corner. "Get ready. We're almost to where the guards opened the cells to let the convicts out."

Everyone had their guns at the ready in case they met with any trouble. When they reached the area Summer was talking about they saw a sea of inmates and guards fighting. "Is there enough space for all of us to get through together?" Romeo asked. Just then, a knife came flying out and would have taken Alia's ear clean off if Murphy hadn't pulled her over in time. The momentum with which he pulled her was too much and they fell to the concrete floor. When they got back up, Connor, Summer, and Romeo were nowhere in sight.

"Fuck," Murphy said under his breath. He grabbed Alia's hand tightly and pulled her along. "Stay close!" he shouted to her over the roar of people brawling.

They managed to get passed the enormous mass of people and into an empty hall. Alia tried to remember what Eunice had said about staying calm, but she didn't recognize the hall they were in and started to panic. Murphy could feel her shaking so he squeezed her hand and said, "It'll be alright. I think I know how to get to the yard from here. Focus on remembering the layout of the prison from there, ok?" Alia nodded and they hurried to the yard as quickly as possible. They were about to turn a corner, when a pipe came out of nowhere and hit Murphy in the face, causing him to fall to the ground. Alia dropped to her knees in fear as a huge inmate came into view. He held the pipe tightly in his hand and laughed at Murphy's still body. Then he noticed the gun in Murphy's hand and grabbed it, leaving his pipe beside Murphy. Alia was so scared she let out a frightened gasp. The inmate turned to face her.

"Such a pretty girl. Did you come to see me?" He stepped closer to Alia, who crawled backward, not able to break eye contact. "What's that?" he asked, motioning to her gun. "You're not gonna use that on me are you?"

Alia remembered the gun and lifted it to point at the inmate. "D-don't come any closer!" she shrieked.

"You're shaking so much. Can you even get a bullet in me?" He roared with laughter.

*At the same time*

"Where are they?" Summer screamed, jumping to see over the mob.

"We have to go!" Connor shouted.

"But-"

"They'll be fine! Murph will take care of her!"

"He's right!" Romeo hollered as he pushed Summer along. "Trust him! Staying here won't give them a better chance anyway!"

Summer nodded reluctantly and followed Connor and Romeo away from the hysteria.

Halfway down a hallway they heard a girl's shriek. "Alia!" Summer shouted and headed in the direction of the shriek, Connor and Romeo close behind.

*Back*

"Why don't you put that gun down, hm?" the inmate asked as he got closer.

Alia shook her head wildly. Then she saw Murphy slowly rise and get behind the inmate, pipe in hand. The inmate saw the look in her eye change a little, so turned to look behind him. Murphy swung the pipe down with all his might into the man's face. Shockingly, the man stayed standing. There was blood dripping down both men's faces now. The inmate raised the gun so that Murphy was looking down the barrel. Suddenly, Alia flashed back to the night her parents were murdered. Tears began to flow down her cheeks. "Papa," she said softly while looking at Murphy wielding the pipe.

The inmate faced her. "What?"

Possessed by the fear of losing someone again, Alia leaped to her feet, dropping her gun as she did so. "Don't hurt him!" she shouted as she jumped onto the inmate's back and clawed at his face.

Enraged and in pain, the inmate slammed Alia into the wall, causing her to fall to the floor again. He aimed the gun at her and was about to shoot when Murphy used Alia's gun to shoot him. The inmate still managed to pull the trigger, however, and shot Alia's arm. She rolled out of the way, holding her arm as he fell dead.

It was just after the second shot that Connor, Summer, and Romeo reached them. "Alia!" Summer screamed. She ran to her little sister's side, fighting back tears.

Murphy pulled out some bandages he still had with him and tied a bit around Alia's wound tightly to help stop the bleeding. Then he knelt with his back to her. "Summer, put her on."

"What?" Summer couldn't fully grasp the situation do to the shock of seeing her sister shot.

"Put her on my back. I'll carry her. Hurry!" Summer did as she was told and helped put Alia on Murphy's back.

"You don't have to-" Alia tried to argue, but Murphy cut her off.

"You're still trembling. You really think you can keep up like that?"

"Sorry"

"You don't have to apologize," Connor said, patting her head gently. "Let's go!" They all nodded and began running again.


	4. Two Irish Boys

Summer couldn't hear anything other than the sound of her heart pounding furiously. As she ran behind Murphy, she watched the blood drip down her sister's arm, staining her clothing. She couldn't think straight. A flurry of various emotions and thoughts bombarded her mind, leaving her blind to the rest of the world.

Bullets flew all around them as the guards tried to take control of the situation. When they finally made it out of the prison, Smecker and Eunice hurried them into a car. Once Smecker saw Alia on Murphy's back he shouted anxiously, "What the fuck happened?"

"Later! Help me get her in the car!" Murphy responded. The moment everyone was in the car, Eunice floored it.

It wasn't long before they reached Doc's. Murphy carried Alia inside and laid her on the bar as Summer instructed. Trying her best to stay calm, Summer said, "Get me some tweezers, hot water and towels." Everyone seemed to be paused. "NOW!" she shouted, which got them all scurrying around for what she needed.

Romeo watched as Summer tied her hair back and picked up the tweezers Connor had found. "Prima, you're not really gonna-"

"What else are we gonna do?" she snapped at him. "There's no way we could take her to a hospital." She turned back to her unconscious sister. "I can do this. I did it hundreds of times back in Mexico."

"But Summer that was over ten years a-" Romeo stopped talking when Connor's hand touched his shoulder.

Connor shook his head. "She's right. Plus, her past experience is better then the lack the rest of us have."

"Thank you," Summer said to Connor before starting the process of taking the bullet out of Alia's arm and sewing up the wound. Her hands shook terribly at first, but following a few deep breaths they steadied. After about an hour, Summer was done and the MacManus brothers carried Alia up to the cot in the room above the bar. When they returned to the rest, Eunice and Smecker left to "tie up some loose ends."

*Later*

Romeo sat with his head in his hands. "I can't believe I…" tears started to roll down his cheeks. "She's mi familia, but I-I failed to protect her!"

Murphy stood by Romeo, hanging his head sadly. "It's not your fault, Rome. It's mine." He shook his head. "I should have been more alert."

"No," Summer said, breaking the heavy silence that had set in. "Alia chose to help you. She knew very well how dangerous it would be, but she accepted the risk and put her life on the line because she believes in you. Alia is a strong girl. There's no way she regrets her decision. You all did the best you could. We couldn't possibly ask for more." With this, Summer left to check on Alia.

Connor waited a few minutes before going up after Summer. He found her sitting against the wall across from Alia, watching her little sister's chest rise and fall slowly as she slept. There were streams of tears flowing down Summer's cheeks. He knelt beside her. "Can't believe in your own words?" he asked quietly.

Not taking her eyes off of Alia, she sniffed and said, "I'm supposed to be the first one to protect her. I'm her sister. I failed her." In her head she could still clearly see the blood soaked bandage and hear the crack of the gun that issued the bullet she'd only hours ago taken out of her sister's arm.

Without hesitating, Connor grabbed Summer's arm and pulled her into a tight hug, allowing her to cry on his chest. "I know how you feel." He rubbed her back gently. "Before Murph an' I became the 'Saints' we got into it with these Russian bastards. The guys burst into our flat and said they were gonna kill Murph." Remembering it still brought out anger in Connor. "I wanted to rip them apart. And at the same time," he paused," I hated myself. Murph has always been with me and I've always felt that I should protect him, but I fucked up. I let my emotions get the best of me at Doc's when we first fought the Russians and it put Murphy in danger." He hugged Summer's trembling body closer as he remembered the pain and guilt he felt when he tore the toilet he was handcuffed around from its foundation. "She's safe now. That's what's most important."

Summer nodded, grateful to have him there supporting her. She clutched his shirt as she sobbed and eventually fell asleep.

*Later*

It was midnight by the time Eunice and Smecker returned. The muffled sound of Smecker shouting, "Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!" downstairs woke Summer. She stirred, lifting her head and rubbing her eyes. Once they'd adjusted, she realized her head had been on Connor's chest and that he was fast asleep as well. Murphy rushed into the room. "We've got to get goin'!" he hollered at Summer and Connor as he picked Alia up.

Connor scrambled to his feet, alarmed by Murphy's tone. "What's up?"

"Smecker says he's got us tickets to get us back home in Ireland, but we gotta move fast if we're gonna make it," he replied before flying back downstairs.

Summer stood frozen in the middle of the room. "Ireland?"

Connor grabbed her hand and pulled her along. "It'll be fine. We laid low there last time. You'll love it!" he assured her with a smile.

"If you say so," she said reluctantly.

*In Ireland*

Murphy stretched, breathing in the fresh air. "It's too fucking cold here," Romeo complained, shivering.

"We can't all be as close to the equator as your precious Mexico," Murphy said scathingly.

Romeo was about to shout out a bad comeback when he caught sight of Connor coming to tell them breakfast was ready. Just before getting back in the house, they heard Summer scream and raced to where she was. They found her in the kitchen, hugging Alia close. "Ow. Summer," she said, finding it hard to breath, "too tight."

Summer let go quickly. "Sorry!"

Connor, Murphy, and Romeo all fell to the floor. "Damn it woman! We'd thought you'd been attacked or something!" Romeo yelled at Summer.

"Well, excuse you!" she replied, putting her hands on her hips. "I'm sorry I was excited to see my sister awake and walking around again."

"We're glad she's up too," Murphy said, walking over to Alia and ruffling her hair. "How ya feelin'?"

"Alright," she said with a smile. "Where are we?"

"Ireland," Connor said.

"Ireland?" Alia almost fell over, but Murphy put a chair behind her just in time. "No way!"

"Yes way," Summer replied. "We'll explain it all after breakfast. Everybody sit."

The next month passed rather peacefully. The boys taught the girls and Romeo how to work on a sheep farm. There were only two times when things got a little hairy. The first was when Murphy tried teaching them how to sheer the sheep. Alia and Summer lost control of their razors and wool ended up flying everywhere. It took hours to get it all out of Alia's long hair.

The second incident took place while Connor was trying to teach them how to ride horses. Alia did alright, but Summer had some trouble. Connor was supposed to be watching her while Murphy and Romeo kept their eye on Alia, but he had looked away for a second and in that time the horse spotted what it thought was a snake and went into a frenzy. He bucked and began to race away. Summer, frightened and with no idea what to do, held on as tightly as she could. Connor took Murphy's horse from him and raced after Summer. It wasn't long before he caught up to her. He called out her name several times before she finally heard him and looked up. He reached his hand out to her and told her to jump. She hesitated for a moment, but after looking into his eyes and seeing how sure he was, grabbed his hand and leapt. With all his strength, he pulled her onto the horse with him. He held her until she calmed down and put her behind him before riding back to everyone who was waiting anxiously.

At the end of the month, they received a letter from Smecker. He explained that Duffy and Dolly had come to him saying that there had been some suspicious crimes lately. After questioning them, he realized that there were little signs at each crime scene that, when put together, spelled out a challenge to the Saints. Even though it wasn't clear who was behind it or why it was happening, he thought it would be best for them to come back. He assured them that everything was fine.

"You know, I've never been camping," Alia said, gazing into the fire and breaking the silence.

Summer laughed. "This isn't exactly camping. We made a fire in the middle of the field."

"You know what I mean!" she said with a pout.

"Murph and I went camping once," Connor said with a chuckle.

Murphy rolled his eyes before wiping his face with his hand. "Don't bring that up," he groaned.

"What? What happened?" Alia asked eagerly.

"I'll tell you," Connor said happily. "It was when we were about ten years old, our Ma took us camping somewhere she used to go as a kid." Everyone, save Murphy, was listening to him attentively. "It was real quiet there. Eerily so, ya know? So I thought it was perfect for telling scary stories, right? I made up this one about a monster who attacked farms and murdered unsuspecting townsfolk." A grin crept onto his face. "And this guy," he motioned to Murphy, "bought it hook line and sinker! He was so scared out of his wits that when Ma came to tell us to go to sleep, he screamed right in her face and threw his water at her." He roared with laughter at the memory. "She was so pissed!"

Everyone listening burst into laughter. Alia noticed how bothered Murphy looked, so she patted his arm gently. "Hey, brothers will be brothers, right?" she said with a smile.

Murphy smiled back. "Oh, I'll tell you how my brother can be! One time…" And so went the rest of the night. They all swapped stories about how silly their family could be. It was a wonderful night, their last night in Ireland. They all seemed to forget their worries. It was like they were just two Irish boys and two Mexican girls with their crazy cousin.

*Back in Boston*

"Home sweet home!" Romeo remarked as he stepped off the plane.

"Let's hurry over to Tio's," Summer yawned. "I'm tired."

As soon as they got to Cesar's they all fell asleep. After a few hours, Summer woke up thirsty. She went down to the kitchen, but didn't go in. When she was a few feet away, she could hear voices. Getting as close to the entrance as she could, she strained to hear who it was.

"It certainly does look suspicious," Connor said thoughtfully.

"I don't think it's anyone related to Yakavetta," Duffy commented. "Those guys had to have learned their lesson by now."

"You're right," Murphy assented. "But who else could it be?"

Dolly rubbed his chin in thought. "It couldn't be…"

"What?" Connor and Murphy asked.

"Well, the only other person I can think of that would want revenge would be someone related to Petrova."

Connor and Murphy looked at each other. "Petrova? But that was so many years ago."

Duffy nodded. "Yeah, but some people can hold long grudges. We see it all the time. Maybe he just didn't have the resources until now."

"Or maybe he didn't want to do anything while Yakavetta was after you and now that you're out of jail he saw his chance," Dolly offered.

Connor leaned back in his chair, thinking. "Whoever it is, we can't just sit here."

"What are we gonna do?" Murphy asked.

"Alia and I could ask around for you, gather some more info," Summer suggested, letting her presence be known.

Connor got out of his chair quickly, "No, that won't do." He turned her around and started pushing her back out of the dining room.

"Why not?" she persisted. "It's not that hard. We got you out of prison! Compared to that this is a cake walk."

He shook his head firmly. "No. Forget it. Go back to bed."

"What the hell? I want to help!"

"We don't need your help."

"You needed it to break free!"

"That wasn't my idea! That was Smecker and Eunice's!"

"So what? You're not grateful? Should we have left you there?"

"I am grateful! I'm very grateful! But this isn't your business!"

"Not my business? What I risked my life to protect is not my business?"

"No! Now go back to bed!"

Fuming, Summer gritted her teeth and hissed, "Fine. Have it your way."

*The next morning*

"It's for the best," Connor said, looking down at the note Summer had left behind.

"You're right," Murphy sighed. "Still, I wish we could have at least said goodbye properly. Wasn't there another way?"

Connor looked up at the ceiling and closed his eyes. "If they'd stayed with us, who knows what trouble they'd have to face?"

"What'll Rome think?"

"I'm sure he'll agree."

After a pause Murphy asked, "Will we ever see them again?"

Connor looked at him for a while before looking down at his feet. "I don't know. I don't know if we should."

*Meanwhile*

"Summer, you're walking too fast," Alia whined.

"Sorry," she said, slowing down. "I woke you up pretty early, didn't I?"

"Yeah. The sun wasn't even out yet."

"Sorry." Summer patted the top of Alia's head.

Although Alia felt very upset, she tried not to cry. "Are we…parting for good?"

Summer knew how much Alia had grown attached to the guys. "I think it's best." Somewhere in her heart Summer knew that the fight with Connor wasn't real. She knew what his true feelings were. It was hard, but she understood that it would make things more difficult for the Saints if she and Alia stayed. She didn't want to give them any more to worry about. "We can always get in touch with Primo if we want to hear about them," Summer said, trying to make Alia feel better.

Alia nodded. She was about to say something, but suddenly stopped in her tracks. "Did you hear that?"

Summer looked around. "Hear what?"

It happened in a flash. Two men leaped out from a nearby alley and coved the girls' mouths with chloroform. As they fell unconscious, Summer and Alia could see the form of a man approaching. He praised the other two men and told them to bring the girls to "the place."

*Two days later*

"Sobrino," Cesar called from the kitchen, "get the mail for me!"

"It's been two days," Romeo grumbled to himself as he walked down the driveway, "why haven't they contacted me? It's one thing to leave the Irish pendejos behind, but I'm family!" He reached into the mailbox and as he pulled out a few letters, a folded up piece of paper fluttered to the ground. Placing it on top of the pile, he walked back into the house. Sitting down at the kitchen table by Connor and Murphy, who were eating lunch, he unfolded the paper. "The fuck?" he shouted partway through reading it.

"What?" Connor and Murphy looked at him.

Romeo finished reading before throwing the paper at Connor. "You call this being 'better off'? Mis primas have been kidnapped!"

Connor and Murphy read the note. "That bastard," Murphy muttered. "I knew we shouldn't have just driven them away like that!" He slammed his fists on the table.

Connor just stared at the message, fury building up inside him. After a minute he looked up and looked Murphy in the eye. "Let's go." Murphy nodded and he and Romeo followed Connor out the door.


	5. The Joke Is Over

He swung his fist with all his might, crashing it into her left cheek. The force would have caused Alia's cheek to swell considerably had it not already puffed up as much as it could from the last time he'd struck her. "Fucking bitch!" Ermolai Petrova shouted furiously. "Whose face do you think you just fucking spit in?"

As blood dripped from her split lip she snarled, "Does it make you feel like a man to hit a woman tied to a chair?"

Ermolai cursed in Russian as he slapped her right cheek with the back of his hand. After this he left the room, slamming the door shut and leaving Summer and Alia alone again.

"Why do you always have to aggravate him?" Summer asked sadly. "Your face looks awful. It hurts a lot right?"

Alia closed her eyes tightly to keep tears from falling before saying, "It's fine." It was incredibly painful, but she forced herself to smile at her sister. "I don't feel it anymore."

Summer frowned. "Hearing that doesn't make me happy. I don't understand why you insist on insulting him the second he enters the room."

Alia looked away again, avoiding responding. She raised her head and looked up at the ceiling. As she closed her eyes again she could remember it clearly. Right after they were kidnapped, Alia was the first to wake up. She blinked repeatedly, adjusting to the light. When she could finally see properly, she looked around and saw Ermolai leaning over Summer's unconscious figure. Summer was on a chair, her hands tied behind the back just like herself. Alia watched as Petrova lifted Summer's face and studied it. "Such an attractive woman," he said. Scared for Summer's safety, Alia struggled to regain control of her body, slipping her shoe almost completely off. Then she swung her leg back and made a swift kicking motion, sending her shoe flying into Ermolai's face. "Fucking-!" he used Alia's own shoe to beat her across the face. When he was through, he left and slammed the door, which woke Summer. Alia knew it hurt Summer to see her be beaten, but she would rather die from successive violent thrashings than allow her sister to be attacked.

*Meanwhile*

"Fuck!" Smecker growled, slamming his hands on the desk. "How could we let this happen?" He paced the floor, gripping his hair.

Connor looked down at the floor, clenching his fists and gritting his teeth. "It's my fault. If I'd thought it through before just pushing them away they'd be safe right now."

Romeo shook his head, beating it with his hands. "How could I be so stupid? I should have insisted on them not getting involved."

Murphy punched the wall of the office, splitting his knuckle open and leaving blood on the wall. "We really fucked up this time. To think we really let them get so close to this, I-"

"SHUT. THE. FUCK. UP. All of you!" Eunice screamed angrily. They all looked at her, shocked by her outburst. "Don't you dare look down on them! Don't you dare do it for one fucking second!" Her heart was racing furiously as she shouted. "Those girls have given up so much for us! They chose to give up their peaceful lives to protect something they believe in! Right now," she said, calming down a little, "they are waiting for us. They have faith in us. We can't let them down. So quit acting like a bunch of guilty children." She looked around at each of them before growling, "Let fix this."

*Later*

Dolly came sprinting in to Cesar's kitchen where Connor, Murphy, Romeo, Smecker, Eunice, and Duffy were all going over the facts they'd gathered. "I've got it!" he shouted triumphantly, despite being out of breath.

They all looked at him quickly. "Got what?" Connor asked.

"The address! I know where they were taken!"

Everyone crowded around him in seconds. "Well where the fuck are they?" Murphy asked impatiently, shaking him.

"Look at this." He handed Murphy a picture.

"The fuck is this? It's just an abandoned building by the harbor," Connor said with frustration.

Dolly shook his head, "Just listen! A couple weeks ago this picture was taken by a tourist. If you see in the top left there's a strange object in the corner, right? Well, the tourist saw it and brought this to the station yelling about how there was a UFO-"

"I remember that!" Duffy interjected.

"What the fuck does that have to do with my cousins?" Romeo asked angrily.

"Can everyone just shut the fuck up and let me finish?" Dolly hollered.

"Ignore them! Hurry up!" Eunice replied with irritation.

"Well we lied and said we'd check it out and I was too lazy to through it away so today, I knocked some papers off of my desk and the picture fell too and look!" He pointed to the lower left corner.

Connor and Murphy, who were holding the picture, squinted at the figure. "It's some man, but I don't know who the fuck it is," Connor said, trying to remain calm, but very confused.

"Let me see," Smecker snatched the photo away. He gasped. "Ermolai Petrova! But I thought he was in prison!"

Dolly nodded enthusiastically. "That's what I thought too, so I checked up on it and he was released about seven months ago."

"So he's trying to get revenge for when you boys killed Yuri," Eunice thought out loud.

"Looks like," Murphy said quietly. Then he shared a glance with Connor before they raced up the stairs.

Smecker, Eunice, Romeo, Dolly, and Duffy watched them before they too ran off to get prepared.

*At the abandoned building*

"Your face looks a lot better," Summer commented with a smile.

Alia laughed. "Does it? How's my lip?"

Summer studied her sister's injury. "Looks alright. I'm amazed at how well it's been healing without stitches."

Alia laughed again. "That's just how amazing I am."

Summer joined her in laughing. "Is it now?"

The door clicked open and the girls looked to it quickly, no longer smiling. Ermolai strolled in, clearly drunk. He stumbled over to Alia. When he reached her, he squinted at her as if she were some kind of puzzle he just couldn't figure out. Finally, after minutes of a tense silence he said with his slurred heavy Russian accent, "You…I am always hitting you for your impudence, but now that I look at you…" he smiled grotesquely, "You are very pretty, aren't you?"

Summer's heart stopped and her blood felt ice cold. "No…" she whispered.

Ermolai leaned his face down close to Alia's. "How about a kiss, Beautiful?"

Without hesitating, Alia went to spit in his face, but he covered her mouth with his hand. "Naught, naughty," he said, removing his hand and moving to kiss her. Fortunately, Alia turned away in time and he ended up kissing her cheek.

The stench of alcohol on his breath was overwhelming. "Fucking disgusting," Alia spat.

Ermolai wound his fist back and drove it into her stomach. Alia coughed. The impact had almost knocked the wind out of her.

"Stop it!" Summer shouted desperately, trying to move closer to Alia. "Leave her alone you damn coward!"

"Coward?" Ermolai roared with hideous laughter.

"Yeah coward! I'd like to see you face her fair and square! She'd kick your pathetic ass for sure!"

"You think so highly of her," he said as he grabbed the back of Alia's hair and yanked it. He looked down at her expression of agony before licking his lips. "If she's really so amazing, she might make a good wife. How about it, sweetheart? Let me have you."

Alia spat right into his eye, causing him to cuss loudly and release his grip on her hair. Suddenly, he pulled out a knife and Summer screamed, thinking he was going to cut Alia. He raised the blade high and brought it down quickly, cutting the rope that tied Alia to the chair. She fell forward onto the ground when he kicked the chair. If he didn't have the knife, Alia knew she could best him easily because she and Summer used to fight Romeo all the time growing up. He stepped toward her, an evil grin on his disgusting face. Cackling, he raised his foot and was about to stomp down hard on her, when a loud crash could be heard from outside the room. Grabbing Alia's hair, he dragged her to the door to see what was happening. He staggered back at what he saw. Alia leaned forward, noticing they were on the second story, and gasped when she realized Connor, Murphy, and Romeo were down below. She tried to call out to them, but Ermolai covered her mouth quickly and held the knife to her throat. He whispered angrily in her ear, "Make one fucking sound and I'll fucking kill you." She swallowed hard, glaring at him, but staying silent. With a horrid smile, he dragged her away, leaving Summer behind screaming her sister's name hysterically.

*Meanwhile*

Connor and Murphy raced up the steps to the second floor while Romeo set down the pennies. They crashed into each other when they reached the room Summer was in. They ran to her and saw her wrists covered in blood from scraping against the rope as she fought to get free. "ALIA! ALIA!" she was still shouting. Connor cut the rope and caught her as she scrambled out of the chair, her legs unable to support her.

"Where is she?" Murphy asked urgently. "Where's Alia?"

Tears streamed from Summer's eyes at an alarming rate. "He-he-he took her! That bastard took her away! Go! Hurry! Murphy, save her! Please! Save my sister!"

"I've got her!" Connor said to him. "Go!"

Murphy nodded before flying back down the stairs and out the back entrance he knew Ermolai must have used. He looked around frantically looking for a sign that would tell him where they went. Suddenly, he heard Ermolai yell, "FUCKING BITCH!" His heart pounding painfully, he ran in the direction of the outburst at full speed. At the beginning of a dock, he came to a screeching halt. Alia was lying at Ermolai's feet as he kicked her repeatedly. Ermolai had removed the knife from her throat for one second, which she utilized by biting his hand as hard as she could, making him drop the knife into the water.

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HER!" Murphy roared angrily, pulling his gun up and pointing it at Ermolai.

Ermolai spun around to face Murphy. He laughed nervously and backed up very slowly. "Now, let's not do anything rash."

"Why the fuck not?" Murphy snarled. He went to pull the trigger, but stopped just it time because Emrolai had gotten a hold of Alia's hair and set her up as his human shield.

"How confident are you when it comes to your marksmanship, eh?" Ermolai laughed. "How about you put that gun down?"

Murphy glared at him before reluctantly letting his gun fall to the ground. The instant it touched the earth, Ermolai pulled his gun from his jacket and shot Murphy's shoulder. "NO!" Alia shouted as her heart froze. His body fell backward. Ermolai threw Alia into the water and walked down the dock to Murphy. Murphy lay on the ground, gritting his teeth and wincing in pain while holding his shoulder. Amused by Murphy's pain, Ermolai laughed again.

"You are not so amazing, are you? In prison, I heard so many stories, but here you are at my mercy. So easily injured to protect a woman, what a joke!" He laughed proudly. "But now," he raised the gun, pointing it at Murphy's heart, "the joke is over."

CRACK!

Ermolai turned around, an expression of shock on his face as he clutched at the hole through his chest. Alia stood, Murphy's gun in her hands. Although she was soaking wet anyway, it was still easy to see she was crying. Her voice shaking, she said, "I didn't want to, but I couldn't let you…" She fell to her knees as Ermolai's dead body collasped to the ground. Murphy got to his feet quickly and held her in his arms tightly. "I can't believe I…"

"You saved my life," he said softly.

She looked at him fearfully. "Your shoulder, is it alright?"

"It's alright," he said consolingly. "I'll live. Thank you. I owe you my life."

Alia giggled. "Careful, I might hold you to that!" He patted her head, then held it against his chest. "Murphy?" she asked, confused.

"Stay like this until Connor or Rome comes, ok?" She nodded. Murphy just couldn't let her see the blood that was pooling around Ermolai's body.

*Later*

Romeo had been the one who found Murphy and Alia. He helped Murphy shield Alia from the sight of Ermolai's corpse as they brought her over to where Connor and Summer were waiting. Summer rushed to Alia the moment she saw her and held her in her arms so tightly Alia had trouble breathing. As soon as Murphy saw Alia safe in her sister's arms, he passed out from blood-loss. They rushed him back to Doc's where Alia removed the bullet from his shoulder and stitched him up. Summer was reluctant to let Alia be the one to do it, but Alia insisted. She also stubbornly insisted on watching over him until he regained consciousness. When he broke out in a fever, she took care of him by herself.

"That girl is so demanding," Summer said grouchily to Connor.

Connor laughed. "He saved her life. Of course she wants to do everything she can."

Summer pursed her lips. "I don't know. Something's bugging me."

"What is it?"

She shook her head. "Just something Eunice said the day we broke you guys out. I'm probably just over-thinking things. Oh yeah!"

"What?"

"How come I don't see reward posters around for you guys?"

Connor chuckled. "That's right. You don't know." He smiled. "Eunice knows someone who knows someone and somehow they managed to fake our deaths."

Summer blinked repeatedly. "So what'll happen now that you guys have come back?"

"Probably gonna think we're ghosts or some shit," Murphy said as he entered the room, his arm over Alia's shoulder as she helped him walk.

"How you feelin'?" Connor asked him.

"He's still got a fever, but he whined about hating being in the bed so much I gave in," Alia said as she sat him down.

Romeo came in, setting down a plate of food for them. "So…"

"What?" they all asked.

"You guys gonna stick with us, aren't you?" he asked while rubbing the back of his head.

Summer and Alia looked at each other before laughing and nodding. "Yes! That is, if you'll let us."

Connor and Murphy shared a look. "What do you think?" Murphy asked his brother.

Connor looked up at Summer and smiled. "I'm strangely comfortable with it."

Murphy laughed and glanced at Alia. "Me too."

"Hey!" Romeo shouted.

*THE END*


End file.
